Aboriginal Child Welfare, Self-Government and the Rights of Indigenous Children

Sonia Harris-Short holds the position of Reader in Law at Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham, UK, having previously held the posts of Lecturer and Senior Lecturer at the University of Durham. She is the co-author (with J. Miles, University of Cambridge) of Family Law: Text, Cases and Materials, a major family law text for OUP, and has published extensively in major UK and international journals. Protecting the Vulnerable brings together her research interests in family law, children's rights, indigenous peoples and the accommodation of cultural diversity in international human rights law. Research for this book was carried out during visiting appointments at the University of Victoria, Canada and the University of New South Wales, Australia and was supported by the award of a British Academy small research grant.

Contents: Preface; Part I Introduction: Introduction. Part II Aboriginal Child Welfare in Australia and Canada: The colonization of Aboriginal children and families; Reforming the Australian and Canadian child welfare systems: sensitization and accommodation. Part III Self-Government over Aboriginal Child Welfare: Lessons from Canada: The promise and risks of Aboriginal self-government over Aboriginal child welfare; The right to self-government and protecting the vulnerable: balancing rights under Canadian constitutional law. Part IV Broadening Horizons: Indigenous Peoples, Self-Determination and Protecting Children's' Rights under International Law: Indigenous peoples, self-determination and self-government in international law; Protecting the vulnerable within the framework of self-determination. Part V Conclusions: Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.